Those who’ve been waiting to see Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai together on screen (since Guru) have a long wait ahead. Sometime back, Ash opted out of Karan Johar’s next film as the role had a very sexy vibe.

Now, Vicky Singh’s directorial debut Raaste (starring AbhiAsh, John Abraham and Sikandar Kher) too has been postponed. The film’s first schedule was supposed to start in June 2007, but was later pushed to October-November. Now, it’s scheduled to take off in June 2008.

Bollywood is no longer just about mushy romantic tales, emotional dramas and comic capers. Desi filmmakers have now entered the sports field to score a winner at box office. While Hollywood has had its share of "field" moments with Million Dollar Baby, Escape to Victory and Chariots of Fire, the Hindi film industry, is gearing up for a bout of adrenaline rush. And a glut of sports-based films show that tinsel town is game for some "real" action. The year 2007 is set for a face-off with more than half a dozen flicks laced with sports.

Great stories are born on playing fields — think Escape to Victory, think Million Dollar Baby. But if Hollywood has bloodied its nose in the boxing ring or the soccer field for narratives of the gritty human spirit, Indian cinema has played it safe with cricket — well, not any more. A glut of movies on sports as diverse as hockey and racing shows Bollywood is game for some action — in exotic locales and away from the cricket pitch.

So debutant director Vicky Singh, once assistant to Farhan Akhtar, takes a tale of three Indians (Abhishek Bachchan, John Abraham and Sikander Kher, Anupam Kher’s son) trying to live the American dream to the rugged racing tracks of Mexico for his film Raaste.

Actor-producer Suniel Shetty had launched RAASTE with Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, John Abraham and Sikander with fanfare at G.I.F.A. in Malaysia last year. But it’s learnt that the project has been delayed. Rumor mills insist that the much-in-news Abhishek-Aishwarya shaadi has pushed the project forward.

Speaking from Aamby Valley City - he is shooting for the television show BIGGEST LOSER JEETEGA - Suniel Shetty denies the development outright.

Vicky Singh’s directorial debut Raaste seems to have gotten off to a bumpy start. The film’s first schedule in June has been postponed to October-November this year.

It is learnt that this is being done at the request of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, who star in the film together. They have cited personal reasons for the shoot to be deferred to a later date.

Sunil Shetty’s Popkorn and Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Films jointly produce Raaste. Besides Abhishek and Aishwarya, the cast also includes John Abraham and Sikander Kher.

Having carved out a niche for himself both in action and comedy films, Bollywood star Suniel Shetty still gets excited about scripts and wants to take up challenging roles, says Madhur Tankha...

Revealing that his priority right now is his home production, Suniel says: "I am concentrating all my energies on `Raaste' that stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. Both look great and I get along well with them. In fact, I gave Abhishek a chance to act in one of my productions even though he was not doing very well at the box-office. Now, he has proved his detractors wrong. The film will also star John Abraham."

Sports films seem to be the flavour of the coming year. Beginning with Nisha Chainani's Mumbai Marathon in January which features Sammir Dattani as a marathon runner, Bollywood has a string of films based on games and sports lined up for release. Among them there's Shimit Amin's Chak De (featuring Shah Rukh Khan as a hocky coach of a girls' team), Vivek Agnihotri's Goal (football flick with John Abraham) and Soham Shah's film.